Cup’ik Teaching Moment:

Qigcikiyaraq (kig-chee-GHEE-yah-uk) “To Show Respect”

Presented by Calista Education & Culture, Inc.

Storyknife, January/February 2023 edition

Calista Education & Culture, Inc. (CECI) presents the Cup’ik Teaching Moment in our Storyknife newsletter. CECI highlights Yuuyaraq, the traditional/cultural way of being in our Region. This Cup’ik Teaching Moment is provided from an interview conducted by Mark John, CECI Cultural Advisor with Lucy Utuan Sparck of Chevak.

Respect is a traditional teaching. When learning about respect, we first learn how to respect ourselves. It is our responsibility to think and to mind our own behavior. We learn it from our Elders, our grandparents and parents. We take their lessons to heart. When we do, we can learn to respect others like we respect ourselves.

“We tell our children, ‘Don’t talk back.’ If an Elder or an adult speaks—to show respect—you will listen,” says Sparck. “We may not always abide by their teachings, but we always have them with us, to become a better person.”

Sparck says we are bound to just eat, sleep and repeat if we do not take into consideration the meaning of our traditional teachings like respect and listening to others. We must not put harmful things in our bodies or minds.

“Listening to teachings was stressed by Elders so that we can use them and pass them on when it was time,” Sparck says.

By being careful and respecting ourselves, we will see others in the same way. We will respect the things around us and other people. A respectful person is respectable.

Qigcikiyaraq [kig-chee-GHEE-yah-uk] is Yup’ik and Cup’ik for “To show Respect.”

One of Calista Corporation’s Core Values is “Respect of self and others.” This is taken from our traditional Yup’ik, Cup’ik and Athabaskan values.

The mission of Calista Education & Culture, Inc. (CECI) is to celebrate and promote Yuuyaraq, the traditional/cultural way of being in the Calista Region which inspires and encourages our people to achieve their dreams through education.

The CECI scholarship program awards scholarships two times each year. The application deadline for the Fall 2023 Term scholarship is June 30, and the Spring Term scholarship application is due December 1 each year. Apply today!